The Cycling Scot
  • Home
  • About
  • Blog
  • Route Map
  • Where to go in Scotland
    • Aberdeenshire
    • Angus
    • Argyll and Bute
    • Central Scotland
    • Dumfries and Galloway
    • East Lothian
    • Edinburgh and Midlothian
    • Fife and Clackmannanshire
    • Glasgow and the Clyde Valley
    • Islands
    • Moray
    • Perthshire
    • Scottish Borders
    • Sutherland and Caithness
  • Advice About Cycling in Scotland
    • What kind of bicycle?
    • Cycle Clothing
    • What gear to buy
    • Taking your bike on the train
    • Coping with traffic
    • Best cycling guide books
    • Best travel books about cycling in Scotland
    • Family-Friendly Bike Holidays in Scotland
    • Mountain Biking Guide
  • Travel Writing Projects/Working with Me
  • Best Cycling Books
  • Diary of a Cycle Commuter

The bad old days of taking your bike on the train 

26/9/2013

2 Comments

 
Taking your bike on the train is fairly easy and hassle free these days, but it wasn’t always this way.

“Sorry lads you can’t bring your bikes on the train. You don’t have any paperwork.” A railway employee stood between us and our train. It was due to leave in about five minutes.

“I booked our bikes on the train when I bought the tickets,” I explained.

“Well, where’s your paperwork?”

“We weren’t given any paperwork. They said it was fine.”

“Where did you buy the tickets?”

“At Glasgow about three months ago.”

“Well why didn’t you ask for paperwork? I mean when you buy something you don’t buy it without paperwork. You wouldn’t buy a new car or a fridge without paperwork.”

My first ever multiday cycling trip was to Orkney, a group of islands on Scotland’s north coast. I was with my cycling buddy Paul. To get to the ferry port we first took the train from Glasgow to Inverness. Our tickets were checked and no concern raised about our bikes being on the train. I didn’t expect there to be a problem because I had specifically booked two bicycle spaces.

However, when we changed trains at Inverness we found this man barring our way. He was refusing to let us travel with the bikes even though I had reserved the spaces. It was frustrating because I knew that I had booked the bikes when I bought the tickets, but he would not believe me unless I could provide something in writing.

I tried to explain again. “They didn’t give us any paperwork, so I don’t have anything. They didn’t say we needed anything.”

“Well, without paperwork to prove you have bike reservations you can’t take your bikes on the train. You should have asked for paperwork. It is your responsibility to ask.”

Paul lost his patience and said, “It’s your system. You should know that they don’t issue paperwork. How can we have paperwork if weren’t given any? You don’t know your own system and you are blaming us.”

 “Yeah, but you bought the tickets in Glasgow.  You should have asked them for paperwork,” he was sticking to his argument and continued to block our way to the platform. “Look, you can leave the bikes behind if you want and get on the train, but you can’t come on with the bikes.” That was such a stupid thing to say. Why on earth would we do that?

“But this is your system. It is not our fault that we were not given paperwork. You are at fault here, not us,” Paul insisted.

“Can’t you check it on the computer?” I tried.

He mumbled about this, “There is no record kept. The only record is the paperwork that you should have. You have no proof that you reserved bikes.” He was tall with spiky hair that was loaded with gel. He appeared to relish the fact that he was using his power and aggressiveness to stop us getting on the train. I think he was enjoying this.

“This is a rubbish system and it doesn’t work. We need to get on the train and we have a legitimate booking,” Paul was having none of this and he was much better in this situation than I was. I didn’t like the confrontation and started to believe that we would have to give up.

The train was due to leave in about two minutes. If we did not get this train we would not be able to catch our ferry to Orkney.

Our nemesis shook his head, “Okay,” he sighed and moved aside reluctantly so that we could pass. “You should really have paperwork.”

We had made it on the train, but had to suffer this shocking behaviour. There was clearly a weakness in the system to book bicycle spaces. Bike reservations were being done without a proof of reservation being issued, but this guy refused to believe this or acknowledge that the system could be at fault. I also could not understand why there was no central computer system that could be checked to verify our reservation. It was an unpleasant beginning to our first cycling trip.
Picture
My bike on a Scotrail train
This had been stressful as it could have meant an end to our holiday. We were worried that the same thing could happen on our return rail journey in one week. It was agreed that we had to sort this out as soon as possible so that this worry would not be on our minds. 

I talked to the guard on the train and told him about what happened in the station. “Is there any way to check that there is a record of our bike reservations on the return train?”

He was a tired looking older man with a handlebar moustache and a Devon accent. “I don’t have any means to check, but you could try calling Inverness station.”

We were disappointed that the best he could do was provide the phone number for the station rather than make the call himself and speak to his colleagues. However, we were not surprised. Not much was expected in the way of customer service on the railways compared to nowadays where there are systems and training dedicated to providing high standards of customer care.

The telephone call to Inverness station was successful and we were told categorically that everything would be fine with our bike reservations on the return journey. The man on the end of the phone asked me to describe the guy on the ticket barrier at Inverness who refused to let us pass. “Oh yes, I know who you mean. It doesn’t surprise me it was him.”

I couldn’t believe how disjointed this system was! An employee was clearly aware of a colleague who was giving bad service and sharing this with me on the telephone. It was unbelievable, but the main thing was that we could get our bikes on the train.

This was the bad old days and it is only fair to point out that this was when a different company operated the Scotrail franchise. First Scotrail, who currently run the trains, have proved to be much better with bicycle reservations. It is a smoother process where you receive an actual ticket for your bike reservation, so that you now have this precious “paperwork”. I have never had a problem with the current system and when online bicycle reservations became a reality it has been much simpler to arrange cycling trips using the train. My only gripe is that trains do not have enough space onboard for all the people wishing to use the service, particularly in the summer months, and I can find bike spaces often fully booked.

In a previous blog post I provided the top ten tips for taking your bike on the train.

I came across this video of cyclists using British Rail in the 1950s where the process seems much calmer, customers focused and hassle-free than the experience I had on my Orkney trip. When I watch this video I always smile and think back to that time at Inverness station. Sixty years of progress doesn’t seem to have improved the way that bikes are carried on trains.
2 Comments

Can you fix a puncture?

10/9/2013

6 Comments

 
Picture
Fixing a puncture on the rear tyre of my bike on the Formartine and Buchan Way in Aberdeenshire
When I first started cycling I could not fix a puncture. I didn’t have a clue.

If I did get a puncture it would take me hours to figure out how to get the tyre off the wheel and then get the inner tube out. It seemed like too much hassle to try and find the hole and patch it, so I would always resort to putting in a new inner tube. More often than not I would get this wrong and end up bursting the inner tube!  I could easily go through two or three inner tubes before I achieved success.

I was hopeless!

I became paranoid about getting a puncture and developed an obsession with continually stopping to check my tyres. Every time I went over a bump or stone or something on the ground I could not help but glance at the tyres to see if there was any damage.

Most of my earliest cycling trips tended to be a few miles along the Forth and Clyde canal path in central Scotland. I lived very close to the canal and when I got a puncture I still managed to cycle back home with a flat tyre because it was not far. I politely said “thank you” to the dog walkers and other cyclists that thought they were being helpful by saying “you’ve got a flat mate.” It was embarrassing, but I preferred to limp home to try to fix the tyre because I knew it would take me hours and it was better to do this at home than alongside the canal.   

When I started going on long distance trips with my cycling buddy Paul I relied on luck not to get a puncture. He had a mountain bike with indestructible tyres and I am sure has never had a puncture in all the years we have been cycling together. My thin tyres were much more vulnerable, but the first few trips we did together my bike survived unscathed. Luck held out.

That was until a ride from Culrain to Ullapool, in the north-west Highlands of Scotland.

This is probably one of the worst places to get a puncture and not be able to fix it because the road is so isolated. About the only place marked on the map is the Oykel Bridge Hotel and this is where we pulled in to try to fix the problem.

It was a nightmare. I used up my two spare inner tubes by bursting them. As I was inflating the inner tube I did not notice some of the tube started spilling out the sides of the tyre and this caused it to pop. This happened twice!

It was also cold with a chilly wind blowing across the hotel’s car park and I remember having to frequently rub my hands together to stop them going numb.

The hotel owner must have thought we were fools for coming all this distance into the wilderness without a clue as to how to fix a puncture. He offered us the use of a bowl and water so that we could try to find the hole in the original inner tube from the bubbles and then patch it up. This is the classic way to fix a puncture which I had never tried before. With no spare inner tubes remaining there was no option but to try this. 

Celebrate with bubbles

It was a moment of celebration when we saw the bubbles coming from the hole in the inner tube. Found it! The tiniest hole it was too. And this is what had caused us such an enormous hassle! I kept a finger on the hole so as not to lose where it was and then removed the tube from the bowl.

I used the little puncture repair kit with the tube of glue and patches to cover the hole. I was very delicate with it, following the instructions precisely and leaving plenty of time for the glue to dry. I was very well aware that this was our only chance to ensure the continuation of this cycling trip. Would this work?

I cautiously filled the inner tube with air. I put my ear to the repair patch and could hear no air escaping. Yes! This was good, but I still had to get the inner tube into the tyre which is where it all went wrong before.

Once I had the tyre back on the wheel rim I triple checked that there was no bits of inner tube spilling out. Then I slowly used the pump, checking that the tube was still not spilling out.

It worked a treat and at last we were able to say goodbye to the owner of the hotel and start cycling again. It took a while to get warmed up because knees and legs had become frozen in all the hours we had spent outside in the cold.

Without the puncture we would have been due to arrive into Ullapool at 5pm, a nice civilized time to look around town and then have dinner. The four hour (I am embarrassed to admit that it took this long!) puncture stop meant we arrived at the decidedly silly time of 9pm.

Our bed and breakfast owner said that there was nowhere serving dinner at this time and our best bet was the fish and chip shop. The food tasted so amzing that I can still recall the perfect crispiness of the chips to this day. This is not just because the Seaforth is an award winning fish and chip restaurant, but becase we felt we really had to earn our dinner. When you come very close to disaster and manage to get yourself out of it the meal you have afterwards will never be forgotten.  

Moving on

Not being able to fix a puncture stopped me going off on my own on the bike. I was afraid that I would get one and then not have the moral support of my friend, so I did not want to take off on my own.

I have come a long way since then.

Fixing a puncture is now second nature for me. I don’t fear it like I used to. It is simply a fact of cycling. It no longer stops me from cycling on my own. I still prefer to carry spare inner tubes to replace broken ones than spend time trying to locate the hole and using repair patches. But I can do it this way, if needs be.

It takes me less than twenty minutes to replace an inner tube, which is probably quite a long time compared to most seasoned cyclists, but at least it is not four hours like it used to be!

I have had to make repairs in some pretty lonely places and during some horrific weather. I have had to do it when I am really tired and just want to get home to a warm bed. However, it is very satisfying once the repair is done and I can continue on my way. I always feel that there is a large element of self-reliance when cycling alone and getting a puncture is one of the best ways to understand how much you are dependant on yourself and nobody else. 

My advice to pass on is that you must be able to fix a puncture if you are doing serious cycling that takes you far from population centres and assistance. Once you know how to fix a puncture you will become much more confident about setting off on your own.

Puncture repair videos

There are plenty of videos showing you how to fix a puncture. This is a good one from local bike shop Edinburgh Bicycle Co-op:
6 Comments

    Author

    My name is Colin Baird and I want to see all of Scotland by bicycle. 

    Tweets by @cyclingscot

    Categories

    All
    Aberdalgie
    Aberdeen
    Aberdeenshire
    Addiewell
    Airdrie
    Airdrie To Bathgate Cycle Path
    Airth
    Alba Cola
    Alloa
    Alloa To Dollar Cycle Route
    Altnabreac
    Angus
    Architecture
    Argyll
    Auchterarder
    Aviemore
    Baird Monument
    Bakery
    Balerno
    Ballater
    Bathgate
    Beach
    Bed And Breakfast Reviews
    Beer Reviews
    Bettyhill Hotel
    Biggar
    Bike And Go Cycle Hire At Stations
    Bike Clothing
    Blackness Castle
    Bonawe Iron Furnace
    Bo'ness And Kinneil Railway
    Book Review
    Bookshops
    Borders Railway
    Bow Fiddle Rock
    Bowhill House
    Branklyn Garden
    Brechin
    BrewDog
    Bridges
    Broch
    Brodie Castle
    Broughton
    Buckie
    Cafes
    Cairngorm Brewery
    Cairn O'Mount Road
    Caithness
    Caledonian Railway
    Carnwath
    Castles
    Cawdor Castle
    Chocolate
    Christmas Food & Drink
    Coffee
    Colinton Tunnel
    Colonsay
    Commuting
    Copenhagen
    Craft Cadence Essentials Case
    Craigmillar Castle
    Crichton Castle
    Cullen
    Cullen Bay Hotel
    Cupar
    Currie
    Cycle Routes
    Cycling Books
    Cycling Jersey
    Cycling Mirror Review
    Cycling To Work
    Cycling With A Buddy
    Dawyck Botanic Garden
    Deeside Way
    Deskford
    Disused Railway Paths
    Disused-railway-paths
    Dollar
    Dornoch
    Dornoch Castle Hotel
    Doune
    Drem
    Drummond Castle Gardens
    Dryburgh Abbey
    Dumbarton Castle
    Dumfries And Galloway
    Dunblane
    Dunmore
    Dunning
    Dunrobin Castle
    Dunrobin Castle Station
    Dunstaffnage Castle
    East Linton
    East Lothian
    Edinburgh
    Edzell Castle
    Electric Bikes
    Elgin
    Falkirk
    Falkirk Tunnel
    Fallen Brewing
    Ferry
    Fife
    Findochty
    Flowers
    Folding Bikes
    Fonab Castle Hotel
    Forres
    Gardens
    Garelochhead
    Gigha
    Glasgow
    Gleneagles
    Glen Esk
    Glen Lonan
    Golspie
    Haddington
    Hailes Castle
    Helensburgh
    Helmet Review
    Helmsdale
    Highland Cattle
    Hill Of Tarvit Mansion
    Hills
    Hostels
    Hotels
    House Of Dun
    House Of Mark
    House Of The Binns
    Huntingtower Castle
    Indoor Cycling
    Inveresk Lodge Garden
    Inverurie
    Island
    Jedburgh Abbey
    Kelso Abbey
    Kildonan Station
    Kinloss Abbey
    Kinnoull Hill
    Kirkstyle Inn
    Knockomie Inn
    Krispy Kreme
    Lanarkshire
    Larbert
    Lauder
    Leaderfoot Viaduct
    Library Of Innerpeffray
    Linlithgow
    Livall BH60SE Smart Helmet
    Loch
    Loch Earn
    Loch Leven Heritage Trail
    Loch Turret
    Longniddry
    LOVE Gorgie Farm
    Maps
    Meadows Festival
    Melrose
    Melrose Abbey
    Microadventures
    Midlothian
    Montrose
    Moray
    Morton Castle
    Mountain Biking
    Musselburgh
    Muthill
    National Mining Museum Scotland
    Netwongrange
    New Bike
    Newstead
    North Berwick
    Oatcakes
    Oban
    Oban Chocolate Company
    Only In Edinburgh. Book Review
    Orkney
    Outer Hebrides
    Penicuick
    Perth
    Pitlochry
    Portgordon
    Preston Mill
    Published Writing
    Puncture
    River Tay
    Roslin Glen
    Rosslyn Chapel
    Scotstarvit Tower
    Scottish Borders
    Scottish Borders Abbeys
    Scott's View
    Smailholm Tower
    Spey Bay Station
    Spey Viaduct
    Splendid Book Of The Bicycle
    Sportives
    Standing Stones
    Stately Homes
    Stations
    St Boswells
    Stow
    Sunglasses
    Sunset
    Sutherland
    Tantallon-castle
    Taynuilt
    Tea Room
    Tempest-brewing-co
    Temple Of The Muses
    The Counter Canal Boat Cafe
    The Elphinstone Hotel. Biggar
    The-pineapple
    The Unknown Sculpture
    Thirlestane Castle
    Tips
    Train Problems
    Trains
    Traquair-house-ale
    Travel Writing Competitions
    Trimontium
    UNESCO Trail
    Union Canal
    Vogrie Country Park
    Vulpine
    Walk
    Wanderlust Magazine
    Waterfall
    Water Of Leith
    Wemyss Bay Train Station
    West Lothian
    Whisky
    Wick
    William Wallace Statue
    Your Piece Baking Company

    RSS Feed

    Archives

    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.
  • Home
  • About
  • Blog
  • Route Map
  • Where to go in Scotland
    • Aberdeenshire
    • Angus
    • Argyll and Bute
    • Central Scotland
    • Dumfries and Galloway
    • East Lothian
    • Edinburgh and Midlothian
    • Fife and Clackmannanshire
    • Glasgow and the Clyde Valley
    • Islands
    • Moray
    • Perthshire
    • Scottish Borders
    • Sutherland and Caithness
  • Advice About Cycling in Scotland
    • What kind of bicycle?
    • Cycle Clothing
    • What gear to buy
    • Taking your bike on the train
    • Coping with traffic
    • Best cycling guide books
    • Best travel books about cycling in Scotland
    • Family-Friendly Bike Holidays in Scotland
    • Mountain Biking Guide
  • Travel Writing Projects/Working with Me
  • Best Cycling Books
  • Diary of a Cycle Commuter